Living With Cats
My dad really did not like cats! However, he let his little girl have several over her childhood. I have a photo of my sister and me where she is behind me holding a ball and I am not quite two and on a kiddie car reaching out to a kitten! So cats were a part of my very early life.
Now as an adult, I presently have three cats. All the cats I have had in my adult life have been rescued.
The gray tabby, Zane is an old boy,14 years. He was born on a farm in southern Ohio. He is very spoiled, demanding to be in my lap, hugging my legs if I have not stopped to feed him this very minute. He was hit by a car when I first had him and I almost had to have him put down but he recovered very well and during that time I nursed him constantly, even getting up at 3 AM to be sure the wood stove was still going!
About five years ago I acquired another cat, owner moving and not able to take her. She is a tortoise color which means she looks like she has been dipped in several different colors of paint! The colors are dark brown, orange, buff, light yellow. A very handsome cat. She was an indoor cat until I got her.
The first summer she brought me 14 voles! Such nice gifts since these creatures burrow under your plants and destroy them over time. That's fine when they are left at the door but that is not always where I find them! Nadahalia is the name of this great hunter. Her past owner named her. I call her Nadi for short and some times naughty Nadi!
Some time ago I did not let her out soon enough and she went through the screen on the door. I have not fixed it since it is convenient for the cats to come and go.
However it has it's draw backs! Often I am in another part of the house and forget that the door is open. So it is not unusual for me to enter the kitchen the next morning and wonder if the mouse I see is alive or dead! When I see it by the fridge as I am making coffee and before it was under the table, I have my answer. This one day I just ignored it and took my coffee into the den. Soon I heard a cat running all over the place and next the mouse was carried into the den. Cats just like to play with the creatures and i do not like to see this. Finally I got it on some of the newspaper lying on the floor, closed both ends , went to the front door and wished it well as I set it into the garden!
On another occasion I left for the afternoon for a concert and knew a mouse was in the house. The next morning it was in the cats' water dish. I never knew if it was homicide or suicide!
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Having been to your house and met your cats, I enjoyed your story a lot!
Our house has never been without pets and for the most part they have all been strays, abandoned or otherwise. I am convinced that my wife has a statue of St. Francis buried on our property somewhere because these pets just have a way of showing up at our door. At our 'peak' population a few years ago we had: a goat, 3 chickens, three cats, three dogs, two tortoises (one over 150 lbs.) and 6 horses. When it comes to the horses my wife is expert at buying horses but has no interest or experience selling them. To say that keeping pets is work is an understatement. I am forever cleaning cat litter boxes or getting up to let a dog out or to let one back in,,,my wife handles all the outside critters. In the last year alot has changed. Two of the cats and two of the dogs passed away from old age, the goat found a new home, thank god and the chickens were taken by a local bobcat, and one of the horses passed away as well, from old age. We are now left with 6 horses, one cat and one dog (the dog is very old and suffers with Alzheimer's). The two tortoises will outlive both me and my daughter. Were it not for all those pets i would not know what to do with all that free time.
Did you read the card that accompanied each vole? Cats bring in their amazing catches for your approval. Over the years I have had frogs, mice, rats, small possums, lizards, small snakes and a wide variety of birds. Some of these gifts have been dead and others were still alive, needing to be rescued and kept safe away from my feline hunter.
I love cats too and have had several. Pure entertainment!!
Naughty Nadi? That's too funny! I once rescued a cat even though I'm dreadfully allergic to them. She had belonged to a co-worker of mine who died in a tragic accident and I just couldn't stand to see her go to the pound. God did a little miracle, because the whole time I had her - about a year - I didn't have one episode of wheezing/not being able to breathe or hives, even though she slept on one corner of my bed (my dog had dibs on the other corner). Nice story, Janice.
